Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Regulation

baroness bowles of berkhamsted: To ask Her Majesty's Government which (1) public, (2) private, (3) self-regulatory, and (4) other bodies haveregulatory responsibility for companies, company law, corporate governance, accounting standards, audit and auditors.

lord henley: The following UK bodies have regulatory responsibility for companies, company law, corporate governance, accounting standards, audit and auditors: Public Bodies (under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000):Bank of England (including the Prudential Regulation Authority)Companies HouseFinancial Conduct AuthorityFinancial Reporting CouncilInsolvency Service Other:Association of Chartered Certified AccountantsAssociation of International AccountantsChartered Accountants IrelandInstitute of Chartered Accountants in England and WalesInstitute of Chartered Accountants of ScotlandTakeover Appeal BoardTakeover Panel This answer does not consider obligations on companies and other businesses generally such as employment regulation, environmental regulation or for reasons of public safety, or those bodies that have general responsibilities in respect of criminal investigations and prosecutions. The categorisation of bodies reflects the categorisation used for government accounting purposes and the application of the requirements of managing public money.

Regulation

baroness bowles of berkhamsted: To ask Her Majesty's Government which non-statutory bodies, including the Takeover Panel and Financial Reporting Council, have been given statutory powers under the Companies Act 2006 and other financial services legislation; andwhich bodies perform comparable functions voluntarily.

lord henley: In addition to the Takeover Panel and the Financial Reporting Council, the following non-statutory bodies have statutory powers or functions under the Companies Act 2006 or perform comparable voluntary functions: Association of Chartered Certified AccountantsAssociation of International AccountantsChartered Accountants IrelandInstitute for Chartered Accountants in England and WalesInstitute of Chartered Accountants of ScotlandTakeover Appeals Board There are no non-statutory bodies that have powers under financial services legislation.

New Businesses: Females

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to make it easier for female entrepreneurs to secure capital.

lord henley: This Government is committed to ensuring that all businesses and business owners have the right support. There are now approximately 1.2 million women-led small and medium-sized businesses in the UK. The Government-backed British Business Bank’s Start-Up Loans provide funding and support to new entrepreneurs, of which 39% have been issued to women. The British Business Bank is also conducting research to identify ways to overcome the specific barriers faced by female-led businesses in accessing venture capital. In collaboration with the Enterprise Research Centre they are gathering data from over 50 VC firms, and are now commissioning behavioural research in this area.

Rolls-Royce: Redundancy

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they will support people affected by the recent decision by Rolls-Royce to cut 4,600 jobs across the UK over the next two years.

lord henley: The Government is in regular contact with Rolls-Royce on its plans to reduce its back office and support functions workforce as a result of its restructuring programme. This is clearly an uncertain time for affected employees and their families and Jobcentre Plus Rapid Response stands ready to help people back into employment as soon as possible. In addition, we will work closely with the action group, in which the company is collaborating with the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, to engage with councils, unions, local MPs and other partners to ensure that support is available for each and every worker to find new work and training opportunities. The LEP will be holding the first meeting of this action group as soon as possible and Government will be fully engaged.

Cabinet Office

Absent Parents: Suicide

lord pearson of rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of suicides since 2000 of separated fathers compared to those of separated mothers.

lord young of cookham: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 20 June 2018.The correct answer should have been:

​The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. and I will place the response in the Library of both houses. Letter from John Pullinger CB, National Statistician, to The Lord Pearson of Rannoch, dated 15 June 2018.Dear Lord Pearson, As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am replying to your Parliamentary Question asking about the number of suicides since 2000 of separated fathers compared to those of separated mothers (HL8615).The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes suicide rates for the UK, constituent countries, regions and local authorities in England and Wales in an annual bulletin[1].The information we hold on deaths is limited to what is recorded on the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death by a doctor, provided to the registrar by the informant at the time of death registration, or recorded by a coroner following their inquest into the cause and circumstances of the death. We can provide the number of suicides per year by legal marital status, but we have no available information on whether the deceased was (a) separated at the time of death, that is, living apart from their partner; or (b) was a father or mother. Table 1 attached provides the numbers and crude rates per 100,00 persons of deaths due to suicide, by sex, for each year between 2000 and 2016 in England and Wales. The rates are broken down by marital status recorded at death. A copy has been placed in the House of Lords Library. Yours sincerely, John Pullinger[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/suicidesintheunitedkingdom/2016registrations

lord young of cookham: ​The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. and I will place the response in the Library of both houses. Letter from John Pullinger CB, National Statistician, to The Lord Pearson of Rannoch, dated 15 June 2018.Dear Lord Pearson, As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am replying to your Parliamentary Question asking about the number of suicides since 2000 of separated fathers compared to those of separated mothers (HL8615).The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes suicide rates for the UK, constituent countries, regions and local authorities in England and Wales in an annual bulletin[1].The information we hold on deaths is limited to what is recorded on the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death by a doctor, provided to the registrar by the informant at the time of death registration, or recorded by a coroner following their inquest into the cause and circumstances of the death. We can provide the number of suicides per year by legal marital status, but we have no available information on whether the deceased was (a) separated at the time of death, that is, living apart from their partner; or (b) was a father or mother. Table 1 attached provides the numbers and crude rates per 100,00 persons of deaths due to suicide, by sex, for each year between 2000 and 2016 in England and Wales. The rates are broken down by marital status recorded at death. A copy has been placed in the House of Lords Library. Yours sincerely, John Pullinger[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/suicidesintheunitedkingdom/2016registrations

Department for Exiting the European Union

Railways

lord berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government why their Framework for the UK–EU Partnership: Transport, published on 7 June,does not cover the rail sector to the same level of detailas the air and road sectors; and what action they intend to take to remedy this omission.

lord callanan: As the UK slides on the Framework for the UK-EU Partnership on Transport make clear, we will pursue bilateral agreements with the relevant Member States to facilitate the continued smooth functioning of cross-border rail services operating through the Channel Tunnel and on the island of Ireland.The cross-border services that link us with the EU have greatly benefited citizens and businesses in both the UK and the EU. We want to see these services continue without disruption, and it is in the interests of all parties to ensure this through these bilateral agreements.The government is considering the full range of rail issues as we further discuss the shape of our future economic partnership with the EU. We will continue to work closely with the rail industry and passengers to ensure that we secure an agreement that works for the entire UK rail sector.

EU Budget: Contributions

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they anticipate that any disputeregarding the UK's payment of its share of EU liabilities upon departure from the EUwill be adjudicated upon by the European Court of Justice.

lord callanan: We have made rapid progress in reaching agreement on the financial settlement text of the Withdrawal Agreement. As part of this agreement, the UK will continue to participate in the current budget plan up to 2020, and pay its fair share of liabilities, principally EU pensions, accrued by the end of that period. In return, the UK will receive a share of funds paid into the EU budget, and benefit from its share of relevant EU assets.For specific areas of the financial settlement, existing enforcement mechanisms will apply, namely to our participation in programmes funded by the 2014-20 EU budget plan and to our contributions to the 2019-2020 budgets which are subject to the applicable EU rules.Any disputes concerning the Withdrawal Agreement will be dealt with through the dispute resolution provisions agreed as part of that Withdrawal Agreement. These are subject to ongoing negotiation.